A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly to a gaming device having a bonus round wherein a player""s skill at an event or action determines or appears to determine when the player wins an award.
Gaming machines are generally games of luck, not skill. Slot machines owe much of their popularity to the fact that a player can play a slot machine at the player""s own pace with no required skills. Most slot machines are set to pay off between 80 and 99 percent of wagers of the players. Nevertheless, players constantly try to inject skill or know-how into gaming devices with the hope of turning the odds in their favor.
For example, there is a consensus as to good and bad slot machine locations. Some players believe that, the worst slot machines for the player are the machines near the gaming tables, such as blackjack, baccarat, roulette, etc. because the players of these games do not want to be distracted by the noise and commotion created by big slot machine winners. Some players believe that, for the same reason, machines near patrons betting on sporting events and horse races are not good. Some players believe that the best machines are those that are the most visible to others so that other players, or potential players, can see big payouts. Some players believe that the machines near cafes or coffee shops are rumored to be good to encourage patrons to finish quicker and return to gaming. Some players believe that machines near change booths supposedly have higher instances of big payouts to entice people in line purchasing tokens to buy more.
Another widely held belief is that slot machines go through a pay cycle, wherein the machines will payout a number of coins to meet the programmed percentage payout after a predetermined period. Players that believe a pay cycle exists, may also believe that a non-payout cycle exists, wherein the machine does not payout after a big payout or a pay cycle. The object of players subscribing to the these cycle theories is to play the machines at the right time.
However, it should be appreciated that gaming machines or slot machines are programmed or set to randomly pay back a certain percentage. There are certain known methods to maximizing gaming device payouts. One such method, for instance, is betting the maximum amount which increases the payouts.
Having a gaming machine truly based on skill would open the door to players becoming professionals at such games. Gaming devices of skill would also prejudice unskilled players, and unskilled players would be reluctant to play such games. Even though certain gaming machines such as video poker or blackjack involve certain skill and decision-making, their outcomes ultimately turn upon mathematics and probability. Accordingly, to increase player enjoyment and excitement, it is desirable to provide players with new gaming machines and bonus rounds for gaming machines that are different, challenging and appealing. In particular, it is desirable to provide players with gaming machines and bonus rounds for gaming machines wherein it appears as if the player""s skill at a particular game determines the player""s success.
The present invention overcomes the above shortcomings by providing a gaming device and preferably a bonus round of a gaming device, wherein a player""s skill at an action or event determines the timing of the player""s success in one embodiment and appears to determine a player""s success in another embodiment. However, the results are based on probabilities or a predetermined result. In particular, the gaming device of the present invention includes a database which maintains a predetermined number of successful attempts, and the game enables the player""s skill to activate, or appear to activate, a successful attempt.
The action or event preferably involves skill which requires the player to perform one or more acts. The skill can also involve certain criteria or criterion for the player to perform such acts. For instance, the game can require the player to estimate the timing of an action and/or the game can require the player to aim at an object or estimate the direction necessary to successfully produce a result.
In one embodiment described below, the game presents a plurality of targets moving in a line and a gun aiming in a circular or similar pattern at the line. The player does not move the gun; rather, the machine moves the gun in the circular or similar pattern, and the player estimates the time necessary for a bullet to travel to hit a bottle that will move slightly within that time period. To enhance the skill element of the embodiment, the game provides crosshairs or a projection of the bullet onto the plane in which the bottles move. The game provides a predetermined number of successful hits; if the player misses the target, the game provides the player with an additional chance to hit the target. Thus, the player will receive the same award without regard to the player""s actual skill. The player""s skill determines the timing of the award.
In another example of the same embodiment, the game provides a fixed target, a basketball backboard, which the game shows at different angles or positions. The game requires the player to rotate a pair of hands holding a basketball to correctly aim at the current position of the backboard before shooting the ball. In both the examples, the game determines through software adapted to judge the player""s timing or aiming whether the player""s shot actually hit the target. In this embodiment, the player""s skill at an action determines when the player is successful.
The player""s skill affects the timing of the award; however, the number of awards or successful results is predetermined and the value of the award is randomly generated. The game predetermines that the player will be successful a certain number of times. The predetermined number of successful outcomes are displayed to the player as bullets or basketballs or some indicia relating to a theme. The game therefore only decreases the players opportunities (i.e., such as the remaining number of bullets or basketballs) when the player is successful. The bonus round ends when all the successful outcomes or opportunities are exhausted.
In another embodiment described below, the player""s skill only appears to determine the when the player is successful. In this embodiment, the game prompts the player to choose from a plurality of targets such as turkeys, and provides crosshairs that move in a pattern around the area of the target, sometimes appearing to be aiming at the target and sometimes not. The player most likely chooses a target having crosshairs that appear to be aiming at the target attempting to be successful. The game, however, does not activate a successful outcome based upon the location of the crosshairs; rather, the game randomly determines when to activate a successful outcome.
Upon the occurrence of a successful outcome such as a broken bottle, a made basket, or a shot turkey, the game preferably randomly selects an award from an award database. The game can select from the same award upon each successful result or maintain different awards for each successful result. When a particular award is provided, the game does not replace or remove the award from the award database, so that the game can randomly choose the same award over and over. The award database preferably contains gaming device credits or credit multipliers. Alternatively, the game can award any item of value to the player such as a number of picks from a bonus selection group.
The award database may also contain wildcards. A wildcard is preferably awarded in addition to credits or multipliers and functions to switch or change the award database of the bonus round to a more valuable award database. The game also preferably alters the bonus game displayed to the player. For example, in the shooting game embodiment, the game changes the target from a row of moving beer mugs to a row of moving liquor bottles upon receipt of a wildcard. Hitting any of the liquor bottles yields more credits or multipliers than hitting any of the beer glasses.
Each embodiment of the present invention preferably contains similar components including: a display device in communication with the gaming device controller; a player interface; an outcome determiner, which preferably includes an attempt producing device, an attempt or action and at least one object effected by the attempt or action; and a plurality of indicators, such as an attempts remaining indicator or an award meter. The display device can include a touch screen and the player interface. The player interface can alternatively be externally mounted to a panel of the gaming device and preferably includes one or more digital inputs necessary to aim or shoot or otherwise perform the action requiring skill.
The player interface inputs one or more signals into the controller, and the controller responds by altering an attempt producing device on the display device. The attempt producing device is the gun or hands and basketball. The attempt producing device produces or originates the attempt or action. The attempt or action can include a display of a moving object such as the basketball or can include a visual and audio display of an effect on the attempt producing device and the object effected by the attempt. For example, the attempt or action can include a burst of fire and a gunshot sound from the gun and a glass/bottle shattering or features flying and their associated sounds.
The bottles, backboard and turkeys described above are examples of objects effected by the action. The predetermined result dictates which effect the game shows, i.e., a glass breaking/no glass breaking, flying turkey feathers/turkey in tact or a basketball traveling through the net/bouncing off the rim of the backboard. A successful result and display also includes an update and display of additional credits or multipliers in the award meter. The game predetermines the number of successful results, which is equal to a number of bullets or basketballs, etc. given to the player. When the player successfully shoots a target or basket, the game removes a bullet or basketball from the display.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a gaming device with a bonus round that includes an action or event requiring skill, wherein the skill element of the round determines when the player is successful and achieves an award.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a gaming device with a bonus round that includes an action or event requiring skill, wherein the skill element of the round appears to determine whether the player is successful and achieves an award.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes.